Any time they caught me staring at Matt’s back, Mary and Beth offered comfort, but there were no words sufficient to do the job when I needed someone to sit in the shop for my protection.A bodyguard. I needed to get used to it, no matter how absurd it sounded.
My neck and shoulders ached, my mind raced, and my heart begged for a rest as I forced myself to pretend that today was just another Thursday.
Matt stood and stretched his long arms above his head when Mary brought him a sandwich and a fresh cup of coffee.
I cried in the breakroom while I ate my lunch. Most of my chicken noodle soup ended up in the trash. Even the mild broth irritated my stomach, making me want to hurl.
While I was cleaning the tables during an afternoon lull, Matt asked, “Nina, are you available to stop by the SSI office after work?”
I stared at him like he were speaking gibberish while my mind processed the request.
Why? What did they learn? Did I want to know? Would my life go back to normal?
“Nina,” Matt said, his deep voice low and soothing. “I know this is a lot, but Austin and Ryan would like to talk to you.”
I found my voice. “You mean question me?”
Assuming it wasn’t a request didn’t mean I would agree readily.
“No. John said they want to talk to you.”
Trusting John not to lie didn’t mean I trusted his nephew. The man who had less emotion than the table Matt sat at.
Steel was hard on the inside and out, and his steel-blue eyes suited his personality perfectly.
Did it?
After we’d bumped into each other, his grip was powerful but not aggressive when he held my shoulders and asked if I was okay. For a brief moment, after recovering from the shock of running into a solid wall of a man, I’d thought he seemed nice. And hot. A real life silver fox.
Silly me. He was nothing like the heroes in my books.
Austin’s handsome face went from starring in my dreams to haunting my nightmares after one conversation with the man behind the mask.
He was so unlike the Sheppard men. They could be cold and calculating when needed—John was known for intimidating people—but only when someone they loved was in danger.
Austin was just cold and calculating. Mean.
“Do I have a choice?” I asked, trying to sound as devoid of emotion as Steel.
“You do. Say the word, and I’ll tell John you’re not up for it.”
Really?I figured he’d try harder to convince me.
“I have a little time after my shift,” I said. Nana didn’t have an appointment today, and dinner wasn’t until six. “I’ll just let my grandmother know I’ll be a little late.”
“It’ll drive you,” Matt said. “I can bring you back here when we’re done.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Matt glanced at his vibrating phone. “John wants me to remind you he won’t leave you alone with Austin.”
For the first time, my smile was at least half genuine.
“Tell him I said thank you.”
I’d never been to the SSI office, so I didn’t know what to expect. I thought Sheppard & Sons was a small company, but the long driveway, which was actually a road that forked along the way, removed that misconception. We followed the sign to the office, not the training facility, and my jaw hung open when the building came into view.
The two story building had a brick and steel exterior with large tinted glass windows surrounding the clear front door. Matt drove past the parking lot and entered a code when we reached a security gate on the back side of the building.
